Have Your Say About Water/Wastewater Policy

Implement LEED recommendations. Inefficiency /wastage is one of

· Over design

· Lack of controls

· In appropriate usage

· Old technology

· Human error & insensitivity

Identify similar parameters and rectify it with the in the design stage or existing buildings. Encourage recycled water for use.

You forgot to mention the near lack of Federal Government funding that should go hand-in-hand with Government mandating!

I totally agree with the rest of your list. GA!

Hmm, never seen any public waste water plant construction or major upgrades in the US that didn't have some portion of federal funding through States, revolving funds etc. from Feds to the States for such applications. Also if the feds didn't set minimum health standards, States like Arkansas would still just let millions of gallons of feces and blood run down their rivers just to keep large factory owners happy (and even with federal regulations they still did that until the the news caught on the story and the feds then got the impetus to investigate them).

with regards to LEED, most LEED applications I deal with are on commercial projects, and the LEED recommendations can not be utilized on the Public Works because the State Agencies, like DOTs, have not fully vetted the materials and procedures recommended through LEEDS, such as recycled Ag Base, etc. I am not sure that a Waste water Plant which is supposed to have a full operational life expectancy probably 2 that of a commercial building would be the place to experiment with new materials and procedures that haven't fully been vetted elsewhere in less critical facilities. soemtimes use of tried technologies is more cost effective and efficient than new technologies. First it saves on capital cost, particularly since the contractors know how to install the established technologies. It saves on labor cost, you have to retrain labor for new technologies, they expect higher pay upon training, and then tend to be less efficient in operation and maintenance as they lack the thorough knowledge of years of experience. Also, maintenance and repairs tend to be more expensive as the technologies are also more expensive, especially so when they attach the label LEED certified. If you really wanted to make a facility expensive you would build it LEED certified. Finally many older technologies actually use very little power, but typically require large land assignments. The land requirement is where the capital cost can grow depending on locations. However, for most of the world land is not expensive, except on the coastal areas of western Europe, mediterreanean, middle eastern seaboard of US, LA basin, SF bay area, japan, portions of the western seaboard of China (except Chinese government would just get it done). Also, since Water recovery for recycling is not a particular concern in many locations through the world, why wouold they have to be concerned with wasting the extra energy and labor to recycle wastewater. Obviously in the desert it is a concern, so yes in LA, San diego, Pheonix, Las Vegas, etc. They need to consider it as a way to offset water demands. But I don't think most of the tax paying public could appreciate the value in Seattle or Portland when the cost were disclosed.

I've only worked in calif. deserts at smaller plants, but I do know that federal funding is available like through Calif. rural water, but here in the Mojave desert area, the cities are so corrupt they don't want any federal agency looking over their backs or reveiwing their books! They cut corners regarding inferior materals, city engineers are paid off to approve shoddy plans and to make things worse they rely on contract operators to cut costs and stay in compliance. It makes me sick as I still believe my first obligation is to protect the public health. After installing a third and unnecessary multi stage air pump and 480 volt motor to the tune of $190,000 and we still couldnt get 2500 CFM air to the basin. I told management that I can pump 2500 CFM air, delivered through 8" pipe/manifold with a $1200 air amplifier. They didnt know what it was but wouldnt consider it as an alternative even though it would save $188,000 plus electricity savings as well as maintenance costs. The good ole boys know whose palm to grease, bank on skimmings for their greedy wallets and always build undersize to save a lil more money to share. After receiving a cease and desist order from SWRCB, my brother and I brought this junk plant totally into compliance re all contaminants except water volume, even ewceived praise from SWRCB. But hey, what do a couple ole farts know know about hydraulics or air demand...Dorry, didn't mean to vent, they fired both us after getting plant into compliance, their agenda wasn't same as ours, public health n safety, go figure

Well the federal funding from USEPA is actually administered through the State of California through programs from agencies such as SWRCB. There are some small rural facilities that can get grants and 0 interest loans from USDA also, SWRCB will still have higher standards than USDA so they usually defer requirements to SWRCB/RWQCBs.

As far as the City's go, yes there is a bit of corruption, the whole family members of friends precedence over qualifications thing happens alot. this is why small politics are so bad, when people really know the politicains personally most common people expect personal favors, this is the way they deal in their everyday lives and expect the same from their firends (which in small cities will happen to be City Council members). City Engineers have to walk a fine line to get things accomplished, even contracted firms, as many tims City Council members are in some manay related or financially tied to local developers who want minimal development fees and infrastructure cost to sell homes cheap (and to be honest don't really consider public health and safety). And, to be honest many residence of smaller communities work in very nasty places, dairies, farms, slaughterhouses, landfills, etc. so they do not perceive many of the infrastructural issues that many large municipal residence might.

Maybe just require wastewater treaters to drink eight ounces per day of their own effluents? Nothing like incentives!

good luck with that, treatment plant operators tend to belong to the operators union.